MGD Submits New Planning Application for Burnley’s Pioneer Place

Maple Grove Developments, part of the Eric Wright Group, has submitted a new planning application at the £21 million Pioneer Place scheme in Burnley town centre. This public/private partnership with Burnley Council will deliver 120 new jobs, 180 construction jobs and £1.35m GVA to the local economy.

Working with AEW-Architects and planning consultant, Smith Love, the revised application includes plans for a seven-screen cinema and 12,750 sq ft of leisure and retail floorspace across five units, centred around a new public realm.

Located on the former Pioneer Co-op site on Curzon Street in the town centre, the scheme will provide a new day and night-time leisure destination within the town centre, with a quality food and beverage offer and a new state of the art cinema. The food and beverage offer aims to attract a range of national, regional and independent operators to provide a diverse offer to support this growing University town.

Speaking about the new application, Nik Puttnam, Senior Development Manager at Maple Grove Developments commented: “Over the past year, working in partnership with Burnley Council, we have reviewed the development mix to ensure the scheme kickstarts the regeneration of the town centre post-Covid and to secure public monies to support delivery of the scheme from Lancashire County Council and the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership.”

“It has been a challenging 12 months for the project, but working in partnership with Burnley Council, it is really exciting that we now have a fundable and deliverable scheme and, subject to securing planning consent in the early Spring, we hope to start works on site in late Summer 2021, with the development scheduled to open in Spring 2023.”

Council leader Councillor Mark Townsend said: “This is another step forward in helping to secure Burnley’s future as a thriving centre with an attractive shopping offer during the day, and a vibrant night-time economy.

“It’s about planning for a better future and part of wider work to prepare the way for business recovery post Covid-19.

“Having a multi-screen cinema in the town centre, along with new restaurants, will help draw in more visitors which will give a wider boost to other nearby shops and businesses. It fits in well with our ambitions to see Burnley become a university town with the expansion of UCLan and Burnley College.”